Gail Rowntree

Senior Associate

Location: UK & EU

Gail has over 30 years of experience in the aviation industry, starting her career as cabin crew and later taking on various roles at British Airways. Her last two years there were spent training safety and emergency procedures for flight deck and crew.

After leaving aviation, Gail retrained as a clinical counsellor with a specialism in Organisational Psychiatry and Psychology. This led her to establish her own consultancy and work for various organisations, deploying on their behalf for their clients. To date, Gail has responded to 43 international and UK-based incidents, often serving as a Senior Incident Director, Director of Family Assistance, or Head of Mental Health.

Gail has responded to incidents in countries including France, Cyprus, Libya, Tunisia, and the UK. She also delivers strategic level lectures for various international institutions and is a guest lecturer at the Emergency Planning College in York.

A published author and researcher in the field of aviation disaster and crisis management, Gail currently works as an Associate Professor in Aviation and Security at Buckinghamshire New University in the UK, where she is also the Course Leader for the MSc in Aviation Operations Management.

Gail is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a full Member of the Emergency Planning Society. Her work reflects a commitment to safety, education, and mental health in both aviation and beyond.

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Charlotte Hurley

Associate

Location: UK & EU

Charlotte brings a wealth of experience and expertise to her role in disaster management, with a focus on training responders and leading personal effects operations worldwide.

With a strong moral compass guiding her work, Charlotte has dedicated her career to supporting disaster response efforts and managing personal effects with precision and compassion. While not a sworn officer, she has immersed herself in the world of policing, working closely with senior officers during various disaster incidents, where she honed her skills and understanding of effective crisis management.

Charlotte’s academic background in Crime and Investigative Studies has equipped her with a comprehensive understanding of critical subjects such as Major Investigations, Anthropology, Crime Scene Analysis, Mass Disasters, and Forensic Management. Her dissertation on policing, which she presented at a prestigious industry seminar in Cambridge, earned her a First Class degree, showcasing her commitment to excellence and her ability to contribute valuable insights to the field.

Throughout her career, Charlotte has successfully managed numerous major projects involving mass fatalities, including nine Personal Effects Incidents. Her presence in Crisis Management Centers during eight live incidents over a decade underscores her ability to thrive in high-pressure environments and provide effective leadership during times of crisis.

In addition to her extensive experience in disaster management, Charlotte brings 18 years of banking experience to the table, where she specialised in identifying and managing risk. Her background in emotionally and physically challenging work has equipped her with the resilience and focus necessary to see projects through to completion within tight timeframes and budgets.

Charlotte’s unique blend of academic knowledge, hands-on experience, and leadership skills makes her an invaluable asset in the field of disaster management. With her dedication to excellence and her unwavering commitment to supporting communities in times of need, she is well-prepared to make a meaningful impact in her role.

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Michael Appleton

Associate

Location: UK & EU

Michael Appleton is a senior psychotherapist in two NHS services specialising in adult and childhood trauma. He has been a clinical lead at MIND, has worked in various specialist trauma environments and has consulted on mental health for major corporations.

He previously worked as a producer for the BBC and in independent production, and his journalism appeared in the Belfast Telegraph, The Observer, The Washington Times and United Press International (UPI). Documentaries such as Facing The Enemy, Shrinking Childhoods, Desert Generals and The Trouble With Peace aired on the BBC, PBS, Channel 4 and The History Channel. He has a special interest in early intervention and the current mental health crisis.

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David Eades

Senior Associate

Location: UK & EU

For the last three decades, David has worked as a frontline presenter and broadcaster for the BBC. He has been Europe Correspondent, Ireland Correspondent, Senior Sports News Correspondent and Transport Correspondent, covering stories as wide-ranging as the death of Princess Diana, the construction of the Channel Tunnel, the Peace Process in Northern Ireland, the launch of the Euro, Brexit, the deaths of Nelson Mandela and Queen Elizabeth. 

David has interviewed figures including President Clinton, Prime Ministers John Major and Tony Blair, as well as stars like David Beckham and Pele, Sir Clive Woodward, Andrew Flintoff and industry giants from Central Bank Governors to Sir Martin Sorrell and Michael Evans of Ali Baba.

As a presenter, David has focused overwhelmingly on both television and radio, fronting election coverage, flagship news and business shows as well as many other debates and programmes. He has also developed his own ‘Climate Critical’ show, focusing on key issues around energy, transport and construction.

David has also worked on countless conferences, building specialist knowledge on issues including engineering, sustainability and climate. David is a fluent French speaker, having lived in both France and Belgium, and he is also fluent in German.

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Kevin Hasler

Associate

Location: UK & EU

Kevin Hasler has over two decades of international communication consultancy experience working in his native UK, the Middle East, and Central Europe. He began his career as a newspaper journalist in England and Wales before moving into senior communication consulting roles.

He is widely experienced in delivering senior counsel, media and crisis training, and strategic content development to multinational clients and senior executives in the public and private sectors.

A British national, Kevin has led and managed PR businesses in the UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovenia, and Hungary, where he managed the largest PR agency in the country from its Budapest headquarters.

He has delivered media training and crisis management training exercises for major international companies and Government organizations across multiple geographies. He has advised senior executives during major real-time crises, including fatalities and major reputational challenges.

His broad-ranging client experience spans major international tourism projects, the manufacturing industry, pharmaceuticals, defence, technology, healthcare, inward investment bodies, and working on major international events, among many others.

PR Agency experience includes working with Bell Pottinger Good Relations, Hill & Knowlton, Mmd/Grayling, Ketchum, Cohn & Wolfe, and APCO Worldwide.

Now based back in the UK, Kevin is a graduate of Politics and Economics from the University of Bradford and holds professional journalism qualifications.

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Alison Anderson MBE

Associate

Location: UK & EU

Alison has 33 years’ experience, in the National Health Service, providing the highest standard of bereavement care in both adult and paediatric pathology services. She has contributed to the development of the recently published Scottish Government guidance: Standards for Mortuary Services.

Alison has a specific interest in the mortuary management of fatalities in disasters and until 2020 was the Emergency and Preparedness Lead for the Association of Anatomical Pathology Technology (AAPT). Whilst in this role Alison worked on Home Office projects such as Developing Specification for Emergency/Temporary Mortuaries and Safe handling of Contaminated Fatalities. Alison set up the AAPT DVI Response Team which activated in response to incidents in the UK and she was awarded a Metropolitan Police OCU Commander’s Commendation for her DVI work. She has provided training to key stakeholders in the field of Disaster Management and Victim Identification including facilitating training on Mortuary Management in Iraq.

Her NHS career has been interspersed with several field roles including deployments in Bosnia and Kosovo as part of Forensic Teams formed by the United Nations. She deployed as part of the British Military Operation at RAF Brize Norton managing the repatriation and autopsies of those killed in the conflict in Iraq. She was a first responder to Thailand after the Asian Tsunami, providing support for the victim identification process.

In 2009 Alison was seconded by Oxford Archaeology as part of the Fromelles Project in Northern France to recover & identify (where possible) WW1 soldiers buried in a mass grave and re inter them in individual plots in a newly constructed, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, cemetery. Her role was to advise on mortuary design, set up and then manage the mortuary/anthropology laboratory complex.

In June 2011 Alison was awarded, in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List, an MBE for Services to Anatomical Pathology Technology.

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Alexander Dimitrevich

Senior Associate

Location: UK & EU

Alexander is a Clinical & Crisis Psychologist. He completed his Masters Degree at Odessa National State University, and has his PhD in Sociology. Since 2002 he has been working for different National and International organisations including ITF, ETF, MPHRP, and The Sailors’ Society as a ‘Crisis-at-Sea’ Response Programme Coordinator and Consultant.

Alexander is trained and vastly experienced in organising and providing support for trauma survivors, helping seafarers affected by piracy and other such incidents when they happen at sea. Several programmes Alexander has supported have been very successful, winning awards including the Safety at Sea and Seatrade Maritime Security Awards, presented by Her Royal Highness, Princess Anne, the Princess Royal.

Alexander holds a Maritime Lloyd’s Academy Diploma in Crew Management and he is also a ‘March on Stress’ Associate. He is trained in Trauma Risk Management (TRiM) as a Practitioner / Manager and took courses at the Aaron Beck CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) Institute.

In 2015 Alexander helped to organise and interview Ukrainian piracy survivors to study the framework of the long-term impact of maritime piracy on Seafarers. The international survey was conducted by ‘Ocean Beyond’, and The Piracy/One Earth Future Foundation.

Alexander is also a certified Wellness-at-Sea trainer and has been giving training courses for seafarers, managers and crew manning departments for a number of International shipping companies.

In September 2021 his training programmes for Seafarers were approved by the Nautical Institute (Ukraine Branch) and he was awarded the Honorary Badge for Contribution in Maritime Education at the 20th Anniversary Scientific Conference of the Institute. 

Alexander is a co-author and trainer of the Three Layer Psychosocial Program which is a support system for trauma survivors which has been recognised as the basic training model for non-psychologists in Ukraine. This training course is being given to soldiers who took part in anti-terrorist operations in the East of Ukraine, the National Guard and Navy, Fire Brigades, First Responders and IDPs.

On 24th of February 2022 when the war in Ukraine began, Alexander, being the COO in Mental Health Support Solutions and Chief Consultant for GoCrisis, had to relocate into Europe and started to organize crisis response events for Ukrainian refugees. Since that time he has been working with Seafarers and their families, air pilots, cabin crews and other Ukrainians who have been evacuated into Europe, giving counselling, trainings and humanitarian support.

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Stephen Gregory

MSc MSyI TechIOSH

Associate

Location: UK & EU

Steve has 30 years of policing and emergency response experience in the London Metropolitan Police Service, during which he specialised in the multi-agency management of major incidents and as a result Steve spent the last 5 years of his police service seconded to the National Centre for Policing Excellence as Head of the Disaster Management Team. He was an advisor to the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and to the Home Office and Interpol regarding Major Incidents, Disaster Victim Identification (DVI), Mass Fatalities Management and the Humanitarian Aspects of Disaster. Steve was commended numerous times during his police career, including a Metropolitan Police Commissioners’ Commendation for his response to the London Bombings in 2005.

Over the last 15 years, Steve has worked in the commercial sector emergency response environment, including five years with the UK Cabinet Office Emergency Planning College as a Lecturer and Assessor in incident management, counter terrorism, and safety at sports grounds and events. He was also a Safety Officer for the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.

Working in multiple sectors throughout his career, including aviation, transport, and oil & gas industries, Steve has delivered strategic, tactical and operational advice, as well as training to key sector stakeholders. He has responded to incidents in the UK, North Africa, Namibia, France, Russia, and has provided training and participated in exercises in the UK, UAE, Egypt, Qatar, Jordan and Somaliland.

Steve holds a Master of Science Degree, MSc., in Emergency Planning and Disaster Management and is a visiting lecturer in Major Incident and Mass Fatality Management at several UK Universities. He is a former Fellow of the Institute of Civil Protection and Emergency Management (FICPEM), and is a Member of the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (TechIOSH), the Security Institute (MSyI), and an Associate Member of the UK Emergency Planning Society (AEPS)

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Saroj Sodi

Associate

Location: UK & EU

Saroj is a highly experienced senior leader with over 30 years of experience in Aviation, she has represented the airline/aviation for resilience at key regulatory and industry groups in the UK and internationally. Shej has led business resilience, operations performance improvement, customer service development, and airline consultation, demonstrating excellent stakeholder management skills in a complex airport environment.
An experienced Senior Leader with a track record of transformational delivery. She has a vast breadth of expertise across all aspects of business including; business resilience, safety management, frontline customer operations, airport operations, and corporate programs. Her valuable cross-functional insight uniquely positions her to successfully develop, advise on and implement effective plans and response to business continuity and crisis management. She set up the business resilience capabilities in British Airways and as Gold Incident Commander, has led crisis response worldwide for endemic and pandemic, industrial action, political unrest, IT failures, major weather events, natural disasters (Icelandic volcanic ash) grounding of aircraft fleets, aircraft incidents , and more. She also led the operational and humanitarian response on the ground too; for example in New York for Hurricane Sandy.
Saroj is flexible, reliable and customer-focused, and has a proven track record of delivering pragmatic solutions that are aligned to the business strategy. She is a strong and experienced people manager of culturally diverse and remote teams.

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Peter Lynham

Associate

Location: UK & EU

Peter has worked in aviation for 40 years, 35 of which were with British Airways in Manchester, Gatwick, Heathrow and China. He has held senior roles in Strategy, Engineering and Operations culminating in a 5-year stint as Head of Global Operations during which period he masterminded BA’s response to various crises, including the 2010 Icelandic Volcanic Eruption, for which he designed the plan which triggered the reopening of UK airspace after a week’s closure, and for a major snowstorm in southern England the same year. As Gold Incident Commander, he took the pre-emptive step to halt all of the BA’s operation just before the snow started, despite heavy criticism from other airlines and airports who were taking a more optimistic view (which did not materialise!).
Peter coordinated mergers with other airlines (British Caledonian, DanAir and British Midland), and implemented best practices from alliance partners such as Qantas, American Airlines, and US Airways. He also coordinated the kick-offs for joint ventures with China Southern/GAMECO, Gulf Air/GAMCO etc.
Since leaving British Airways, he has advised C-suite executives of airports and airlines around the world on planning, process, organisation, and systems. He has also conducted engagements to overhaul the crisis management procedures at a major low-cost airline in SE Asia, and the disruption escalation procedures at a low-cost carrier in Central America.
GoCrisis is thrilled to have such an experienced professional as part of our team to support our global clients.

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